Caracas, Venezuela — Propaganda featuring Nicolás Maduro is disappearing from various public spaces and institutions in Venezuela. According to some analysts, this is a sign of interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s attempt to distance herself from her predecessor and change the name of her government for political survival.
Five months after the authoritarian president’s arrest by U.S. special forces, murals, posters and other symbols associated with Maduro, including the anti-imperialist cartoon character Súper Bigote, have been gradually removed by the interim government.
Social media posters showed Maduro’s image removed from toll roads and financial institutions, including the Banco de Venezuela (BDV), as well as inside the Cabinet Room of the Miraflores Palace, the official residence of the Venezuelan president. There, a photo of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, hung on the wall after his arrest and was later replaced with the palace seal.
“Maduro has a very bad image,” said José Vicente Carrasquero, a Venezuelan political consultant and associate professor at Miami Dade College. “The revolution turned out to be one of the worst things that ever happened to this country, and now they are trying to move away from the image conveyed by people who ultimately did great harm to the country.” Latin America Report.
A Bloomberg and Atlas Intel poll in late May found that 68% of Venezuelans surveyed had a negative view of Maduro. Other influential members of the regime, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, also received disapproval ratings from 68%, while 59% of Venezuelans viewed Delcy Rodríguez in a negative light.
Carrasquero suggests that removing Maduro-related propaganda could be an attempt to rebrand the political project known as Chavismo, named after Maduro’s predecessor, former President Hugo Chavez, the deceased leader of the Bolivarian revolution.
“What is disappearing from Venezuelan politics, and hopefully disappearing forever, is the cult of personality: the attempt to associate the political project and its progress with individuals,” he explained. “It is a mistake, especially when those individuals are as ordinary as Chavez and Maduro. Clearly we need to return to institutionalized politics centered on projects, parties, things that last over time and do not disappear.”
Chavismo’s new look
Carrasquero argues that the Rodríguez administration is “very pragmatic” and desperately wants to stay in power because “the goal is to ensure that power is not held accountable” for crimes committed during Maduro’s presidency.
The professor said that as part of these pragmatic changes, the government is showing concern about issues it previously ignored, including corruption and basic services for ordinary Venezuelans.
Rodríguez recently announced that his team is building a hotline to report corruption among authorities. “I want to end bullying and extortion,” she said.
Last April she announced negotiations with Siemens and General Electric to resolve Zulia state’s power crisis.
“They are trying to stabilize the situation to see if they can maintain power for as long as possible,” Carrasquero said.
Despite the new paint job, Carrasquero believes Chavismo will have trouble winning future elections.
Rodriguez remains interim president even though his 90-day emergency term expires in April. The opposition has called for elections, but government officials have pushed back, saying the economy must be stabilized before a political transition can occur.
Maduro’s son, Representative Nicolás Maduro Guerra, told Spanish newspaper ABC: “When I walk down the street, I still don’t get the feeling that Venezuelans want to vote this year. People need a breather and a plan that leads to economic growth.”
Read more: Delcy Rodriguez’s term as acting president has expired. Why haven’t new elections been held in Venezuela?
The same Bloomberg/Atlas Intel poll gave opposition leader Maria Corina Machado an approval rating of 55%, while her political supporter Edumundo Gonzalez Urrieta had an approval rating of 47%. U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also showed mostly positive perceptions among Venezuelans, with approval ratings of 45% and 49%, respectively.
“I think it’s almost impossible for Chavismo to win another election in the near future, because basically Chavismo is responsible for what Venezuela is going through,” he said.
Featured Image Source: SuperBigoteOficial via YouTube
